1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to broadhead hunting arrows and more particularly to a unitary, chisel-type blade unit for a broadhead which is connectable to the shaft of an arrow by a ferrule. The construction of this broadhead allows for cut on contact action upon impact with the prey. These broadheads are weight adaptable simply by choosing different weight ferrules. The ferrule can be trimmed to remove additional weight therefrom.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
There are many broadheads disclosed in the prior art. These are made of multiple pieces fitting together to form the broadhead unit which is then attached to the shaft of an arrow. The resulting broadhead can be disassembled into the component parts, including usually the individual blades, a tip, a ferrule of some sort and other connecting parts. Examples of these multi-piece broadheads are found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,940,758 issued to Richter; U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,969 issued to Nagatori; U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,435 issued to Musacchia; U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,330 issued to Kosbab; U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,749 issued to Simo; U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,468 issued to Tinsley, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,520 issued to Fingerson, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,941 issued to Saunders; U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,297 issued to Maleski; U.S. Pat. No. 4,036,499 issued to Sherwin; U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,043 issued to Ester; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,751 issued to Cooper.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,940,758, issued to Richter, discloses a broadhead having a central body with grooves to removeably receive multiple blades. In use, a pointed tip screws onto the central body and captures the front tip of each of the blades to hold them in place. A ferrule screws onto the rear of the central body and captures the rear tip of each of the blades to hold them in place. This broadhead blade unit can be disassembled into its component parts.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,969 issued to Nagatori, which discloses a broadhead with a replaceable secondary arrow blade received within a slot of the primary arrow blade which is all received within a slotted ferrule. This broadhead can similarly be disassembled into its component parts.
Most of the broadheads in the prior art are punch-type braodheads having a conical tip of some kind. Upon impact with the prey, the conical tip of the broadhead punches through the surface of the skin. After the tip punches through the prey, the trailing, razor sharp blades of the broadhead make contact and provide a cutting action.
While most of the prior art broadheads are designed as the punch-type, the preferred design is a chisel-type broadhead where the razor sharp edges of the blades come together to create the point of the broadhead. As the point impacts the prey, there is a cut on contact action.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,941 issued to Saunders discloses a multi-piece broadhead that is designed to provide the preferred cutting action immediately upon impact. A tapered hub has a slot to receive a plurality of blades. The rear of each of the blades is received in a slot at the rear of the hub where it is retained by means of an annular grommet and a belleville washer. When assembled, some of the razor edges meet at a pointed tip which provides the immediate cut on contact action. The other razor edges trail the point of the arrowhead and do not participate in the cut on contact action. The blade unit developed by Saunders can be disassembled to replace the blades or other parts as needed.
This invention is a unitary, chisel-type blade unit for a broadhead comprising multiple blades each with razor edges extending radially from a common frontal point to a base, the base of each blade being connected to a central base collar having a central aperture in alignment with a cap on the underside of each of the blades and positioned between the central base collar and the common frontal point; the cap having a first means for connection to a ferrule; and the central base collar having a second means for connection to a ferrule. The invention further comprises a ferrule having a front portion, a central portion and a rear portion, the front portion having means for connection to the cap, the central portion having means for connection to the central base collar, and the rear portion having means for connection to an arrow shaft.
The multiple razor edges join to form the common frontal point of the blade unit and provide the preferred, immediate cut on contact action. The simple, one-piece design of the blade unit avoids the many pieces and the complex, puzzle-like assembly required by prior art broadheads.
The ferrule of the present invention connects easily to the blade unit on one end and the arrow shaft on the other. The ferrule can be made of different weights and materials allowing the archer to change the weight of the broadhead and to adapt it to the many different hunting situations. The ferrules can be trimmed to remove material and therefore weight from the ferrule should the archer prefer an even lighter weight on the arrow.
The archer can replace either a blade unit or a ferrule as needed. For example, if a blade unit is damaged or needs sharpening, the archer can separate the old blade unit from the ferrule and replace it with a new blade unit while using the same ferrule. Alternatively, an archer can replace just the ferrule, either because it has been damaged in some way, or because a different weight might be desired.